Strongest Boulderers Over 40

I'm curious how many boulderers there are who have managed to consistently climb V13/14 after  age 40. How about after 50? Also interested in hearing about V10+, although I'm sure there are many. I'm fascinated by training research and particularly the potential physiological limits for athletic achievement as we age. As a coach, and someone who just hit the big 4-0 myself, I'm hoping to expand the catalog of knowledge available for those of us hoping to keep performing as we age.

I may have done the first V10 about the age of forty (1977), but only because Jim Holloway skipped over that rating to V11 (and V13) about the same time! I think I probably made moves V10+ up until an arm injury at 50 that took me out of the sport for a year. I felt very strong up to that point, but decided not to return to that level of commitment. I'll be curious to see what others have done in middle age and beyond in the years since. I bet there are more than a few 40 - 50 that have kept at V12 and above. Each year the athletes get better.

Dave Macleod, when he was around 43-44, 

"Over ten years later I realized I climb harder at age 40 than at age 30"

Dave Graham, V16 at age 40

Japanese climber Akira Waku sent V15/16 at 48.

https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/48-year-old-akira-waku-of-japan-sends-v15-16-with-video/ 

I’m curious if there are many people who have gotten strong enough to climb double digit boulders post 40, vs. maintaining strength they already had in their younger years. For example, a lot of the people mentioned above were already climbing those grades in their 20s and 30s and have been able to maintain that strength into their 40s (still impressive). But I wonder how often someone can climb harder and increase strength at that age (I.e. climbing v10+ for the first time post 40).

I climbed my first V12 at age 48, along with a number of 10s and 11s. At 58 that feels a long time ago!

 I would say that post-55 it's going to be pretty difficult to maintain adequate levels of finger strength and power for double-digit problems. Another piece of bad news for aspiring older climbers is that weight maintenance is critical. If you have an actual job and family (plenty of my peers seem to be retired and kid-free already haha) good luck with the training and getting out on actual rock. Also critical is an aptitude for real punishment and failure, something that older climbers may not be psyched for, especially if they have a history of succeeding on harder climbs/problems in the past. The last piece is avoiding injury, a dicey proposition on focused short problems with possibilities for hard landings.

Aaron K wrote:

Dave Graham, V16 at age 40

Has Euclose been confirmed or did he do another V16 I’m unaware of in the last year? 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Has Euclose been confirmed or did he do another V16 I’m unaware of in the last year? 

Hypnotized Minds? Tho that was done in his late 30s.

Long Ranger wrote:

Hypnotized Minds? Tho that was done in his late 30s.

Hypnotized Minds was super impressive, for sure. My comment was in regards to someone saying he sent V16 at age 40. Presumably they are referring to Euclase, which hasn’t been confirmed to my knowledge. Just curious more than anything

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Hypnotized Minds  My comment was in regards to someone saying he sent V16 at age 40. Presumably they are referring to Euclase, which hasn’t been confirmed to my knowledge. Just curious more than anything

I mean, he sent V15 two weeks prior to that (on Webbs' La Rustica).  And since then has sent Primitivo, Road Kill, and 4 Low - all of which are v15. So my guess is if it's not v16 its probably at least V15.

Regarding Dave Graham V16 at 40: He also climbed F The System in June of this year (so, at age 40), which has had 3 ascents now and is confirmed at V16.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgSTh4cjGwk/?hl=en

Great thread and hope more older crushers chirp in. 47 years old for me with the last 13 on the rocks. Definitely hoping to tick a ten and in the 7-8 range for the moment. Finding that it takes a lot more commitment as I get older but feels doable. Yoga, diet, rest and sleep all need to be tended constantly and I guess at this age it depends on how bad you really want it. If I climbed 1 V10 before 55 I would feel pretty full with this sport! 

Long Ranger wrote:

Dave Macleod, when he was around 43-44,
"Over ten years later I realized I climb harder at age 40 than at age 30"

You quoted him in reverse- Fixed it for ya! Important because what Dave actually said is super inspiring! (the other way around, not so much)

Love Dave McLeod's videos, he is so laser focused, yet seems so content at the same time. 

DRRR fixed! 

Some good responses so far, so thanks everyone for that. Seems there are fewer than I would have expected, and no females mentioned so far either.

Dave G. is a particularly interesting one because his natural style relies so heavily in skill, which doesn't diminish with age the same way strength and power do. It makes sense to me that he can maintain such a high level of performance.

Rocco wrote:

Some good responses so far, so thanks everyone for that. Seems there are fewer than I would have expected, and no females mentioned so far either.

Dave G. is a particularly interesting one because his natural style relies so heavily in skill, which doesn't diminish with age the same way strength and power do. It makes sense to me that he can maintain such a high level of performance.

Comparatively speaking there are far fewer women who have even climbed these grade so this isn't surprising...and even fewer doing it consistently. I feel like the ratio checks out though

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Comparatively speaking there are far fewer women who have even climbed these grade so this isn't surprising...and even fewer doing it consistently. I feel like the ratio checks out though

And even fewer (or any?) who are now over 40. Ashima is only 21. I'm not sure how hard someone like Lisa Rands is climbing these days.

Long Ranger wrote:

And even fewer (or any?) who are now over 40. Ashima is only 21. I'm not sure how hard someone like Lisa Rands is climbing these days.

I'm not sure any females over 40 have climbed V14....It's only inevitable that it will happen though imo. There are certainly a fair share of females that are in their late 20's and early 30's who are sending these grades though.

Like I said, not at the rate as males so it's not surprising that we can't come up with (m)any females to do this considering we are having trouble coming with more than couple males that have done this

Timmy Fairfield did Throwback, V14/15 in 2016. He would have been 47.
I believe that Lynn Hill and Bobbi Bensman bouldered in the low double digits in their 50s.  

Frank Stein wrote:

Timmy Fairfield did Throwback, V14/15 in 2016. He would have been 47.
I believe that Lynn Hill and Bobbi Bensman bouldered in the low double digits in their 50s.  

I think Throwback landed on v14 till a pocket changed for the better (now considered v13).

Recently, Chad Greedy did 2 v14s at 46. I believe they are his firsts of the grade.